WE will be hearing a lot about MUCK Up [Milton Ulladulla Community Kindness] in the future that is for sure.
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MUCK, with its strong anti-bullying theme, had its first public event last week, in the shape of a community forum at the Dunn and Lewis Centre, and it was a success.
Year 11 Ulladulla High School student, Adam Clear, is one of MUCK's co-founders and he was happy with both the attendance and result of the group's first event.
He was pleased the initiative he planned with well-known community leader Matt Dell had turned into reality.
"It hit home as the forum went on that it [MUCK] was not just an idea anymore - it was something big," he said.
"I was happy with the way the forum turned out."
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To start things off people were told about what MUCK was about and they were also told about Do it for Dolly Day.
MUCK's first event was held in conjunction with Do it for Dolly Day - an event named after Amy Jayne "Dolly" Everett [May 1 2003 - January 3 2018] who was a 14-year-old Australian teenager who died by suicide after extensive cyberbullying.
Adam, who has albinism and has been extensively bullied all his life, said he was prepared to stick with MUCK.
"I am here for the long-term and there will be more from MUCK to come," he said.
"It's all about getting the conversation out there."
Adam said the feedback for MUCK was positive and added it would be hard for anyone to turn a community kindness project into something negative.
He mentioned that two Year Five students attended the forum, along with some other "unexpected" people.
People at the forum were asked two questions - why were they at the event and what did they hope MUCK would achieve in the future?
The results of these questions are currently being reviewed.
Adam sees the anti-bullying movement growing with the people who attended the forum encouraging their family and friends to attend other MUCK events.
The next MUCK event is in the process of being developed and Adam said it would be along the "Master Chef" concept.
The event is set for Sunday, July 2 at the Ulladulla Civic Centre and will feature groups of four youths [aged 12-18] teaming up with some of the region's top local chefs to compete in a "Master Chef" style challenge to celebrate food as one of the great things Milton Ulladulla has to offer while "also seeing first hand some of the great role models we have in the local community".
These events "will serve as a means of bringing messages of kindness and education around bullying to local kids and their parents".
Additionally, MUCK members will be looking at other ways to spread the message of kindness and information about bullying for the remainder of 2023.
Ideas around this included the creation of a "kindness mural" acknowledging the work of Dolly's Dream and MUCK Up at an appropriate location in Ulladulla, the potential creation of safe spaces for children experiencing bullying and the overall vision of making Milton/Ulladulla a place known by locals and visitors alike for its kindness toward one another and a great place to live are among the ideas.
Events and further initiatives will be advertised through local business partners and on our social media pages [FB and Instagram] and they will be asking for expressions of interest for our MUCK Up Master Chef event in the coming weeks.
Follow MUCK on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/muckup2023 or email muckup2023@gmail.com for more information.
Numbers to call for help if this has raised issues include
Lifeline 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 551 800
MensLine Australia 1300 789 978
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467
Beyond Blue 1300 22 46 36
Headspace 1800 650 890 and
QLife 1800 184 527.
